Transcontinental Inc. has announced that it will close its Concord printing plant in Ontario and its Edmonton plant in Alberta by the end of December 2014.

"We are always looking at possible solutions to maximize our print platform," said Jacques Grégoire, president of the printing division of Transcontinental. "Our recent analyses have led us to close the Concord and Edmonton facilities in order to consolidate our production in state-of-the-art plants which will increase our efficiency and utilisation rate. In light of the current market environment, we are pursuing our review and are examining various options to continue responding appropriately to demand while remaining cost-effective for our customers."

Jennifer McCaughey, senior director, investor relations and external corporate communications, said the two plants print retail flyers and the work will be transferred to other plants in Transcontinental’s network in Ontario and western Canada, depending on customers’ needs.

The plant closures will put 120 staff employees out of work and Transcontinental states it will help them during their transition to find new employment.